New West Brom manager Darren Moore speaks out about Cyrille Regis pride

New West Brom manager Moore opened up yesterday on the man who hit him for six the very first time he clapped eyes on him.

He is only sorry former England striker and Baggies’ legend Regis is not around to see him clinch the top job at the Hawthorns.

The two were massive mates and chatted on the phone just hours before Regis died of a heart attack in January aged just 59.

Speaking yesterday for the first time since landing the job on a permanent basis, Moore revealed Regis would have been a part of his plans.

“I’m really proud to get this job and I’m sure he’s looking down on us now and saying he’s very happy,” said Moore.

“I know if Cyrille was here, I’d be sharing the day-to-day running of things with him. I can honestly say that to you.

“I was speaking to him right up until the night before he died, up until 8pm and the next morning I learned of his passing. We had a conversation and he said ‘let’s speak in the morning...’”

Moore, 44, recalls the moment he fell in love with football when his dad called him in from a knockabout under a railway tunnel in Handsworth, Birmingham, where he grew up.

“When I look back, the first game I saw growing up as a youngster, I was playing cricket outside and my dad called me in, I was about nine or 10,” said Moore.

“He said ‘I want to show you something here, son’. I said ‘What is it?’ There was a game on the TV and it was West Bromwich Albion, and they had three black players at the time.”

They were the legendary Three Degrees – Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendan Batson – who were blazing a trail with their swashbuckling style of football.

“I just put the bat down and that was it,” said Moore. “My dad wanted to show me that match because we were in the West Indian community and he was really proud.

“I thought the pitch was a stage, and there were 22 players on it who were being worshipped by the supporters and I just said to my dad ‘I want to do that.’”

Moore went on to represent West Brom as a defender and beat off a list of around 50 applicants to land the job he did with such distinction for the last six games of the season.

He turned around what looked like a lost cause and though Albion were still relegated, Moore oversaw victories over Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle as well as a draw against Liverpool.

It was a run which landed him the April Manager of the Month award and convinced the Albion power-brokers that he deserved a proper crack at it.

Chief executive Mark Jenkins broke the news to Moore that he was going to be offered the job after returning from a trip to China for talks with the club’s owners.

Jenkins said: “Darren was head and shoulders over the other candidates. Darren is the right man for the job.

“More than anything he encapsulates everything we want at this club.”

And Jenkins confirmed Moore will have the final say on any players brought into the relegated outfit.

He said: “With regard to transfers I can say that there will definitely be no players brought in without Darren saying ‘Yes.’

“There’s no point bringing players here that Darren doesn’t want. The club doesn’t have to sell anyone to balance the books.”